Correspondence.
Page 17
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects conne,ted with the use oj commercial motors. Letters should be. on late side of the taper only, and type-written try preferenc.. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responstbility for the views exhressed is accepted.
New Remedy (?) for Laying the Dust Fiend.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—Now that the dust nuisance is receiving so much attention the following extract from the specification of a patent taken out in 1907, which 1 came across in the course of my researches a short time ago, may interest some of your readers :—" A dust-laying composition for pathways, wood paving, etc., consists of is parts of lard oil, or castor oil, tat parts of spindle oil, to parts of chloride of lime, 28 parts of resin, or sugar, 4 parts of fat, 2 parts of borax and 2 parts of sulphuric acid. The mixture is stirred and heated to a temperature of about too° F., and, on cooling, it can be dissolved in water. To make it into a paste add extra fat!"
Strange to say, the patentee does not claim the facilitating of skidding and side-slip as one of its advantages.—Yours faithfully, RICHARD Mut RIIEAD. Gravesend, 5th September, 1908.
The Lubrication of Disc Clutches.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :— My experience of disc clutches has impressed on me the importance of correct lubrication in obtaining efficient results, but, as is always the case, the tests of the suitable lubricant have to depend on the pressures, temperature, and speed. For instance, on my Napier, if my clutch springs arc screwed up, I must use a more viscous oil if I wish to avoid fierceness. Again, on a cold morning, the clutch may slip, owing to the oil's being too viscous at the low temperature; or, on a hot day, and especially with the frequent declutching, as in traffic, the oil may be too Ibin.
My company, when asked to advise in cases of clutch troubles, suggests to the applicant that he should fill his clutch with a medium-bodied oil, and gradually add paraffin until he gets the best all-round results. He then sends a sample of this ail-round mixture to us, and we are able to supply him with a clutch oil of the same viscosity, but, of course, free from paraffin. I trust this simple and fairlyefficient method may be of use to your readers who have trouble of this nature.--Yours faithfully, Millwall, E. A. DocknAm.
Motor Hiring.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—I am glad that you intend to bring out a number to deal with the subject of " Motor Hiring." It is very imperfectly understood, and not a few people have made a mess of it. It seems to me that the time has now come for people to make more money by motor hiring than has been lost in past years. I do not mean that road-carrying companies ought to be formed all over the country, for I believe that developments on the part of existing and established cartage, haulage, parcel-delivery and like companies offer the most promising and likely scope for a wider use of business motors. Much has been done by pioneers to prove how very hard it is for new people to" get going," but it is more easy nowadays, when the vehicles themselves are so much better than they were, and when drivers are more amenable and qualified, for newcomers to succeed.
I am, as a teamowner and contractor, ready to take up motors myself, for the past to years have shown me that they must come into ordinary trade circles very soon. If other people start against me, they may lose their money in the course of a few years, but the competition will harm both of us, and my present customers will probably stick to me if I have the motors for which they are now asking. I hope your issue will be as interesting and successful as those you prepared for Brewers, Millers, and other trades some years
ago..—Yours truly, HAULAGE. Manchester.